


The Waiting

by sbdrag



Category: Xiaolin Showdown (Cartoon)
Genre: M/M, Mutual Pining, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-16
Updated: 2019-01-16
Packaged: 2019-10-11 00:53:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17436761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sbdrag/pseuds/sbdrag
Summary: Chase Young has been waiting averylong time.





	The Waiting

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Thing About Bad Pennies](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1112504) by [CrystallicSky](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrystallicSky/pseuds/CrystallicSky). 



> First of all, read "The Thing About Bad Pennies" or this will make literally _no_ sense. I was so incredibly inspired rereading it that I wrote this as a sort of alternate perspective piece and if I was sure the author would see it I would have waited to post but I have no idea how long it's been since they've been on this account. If they _do_ see it... well, I hope you like it? 
> 
> (Also, the song is a rewrite of "I know It's Today" from Shrek the Musical - fight me.)

_There’s a dark prince_

_In a fortress_

_Waiting oh so patiently_

_Poor Chase Young_

_So alone_

_But the spell’s not been set free_

_He passes time by training_

_Meditating, casting spells_

_As the years go by he sits and waits_

_As the years go by, again_

_A solitary existence_

_Curse that damn monk Guan!_

_He wishes he could skip it_

_Skip ahead, skip ahead_

_To when he finds his dearest treasure_

_The only constant in his life_

_And possibly his only friend_

 

 _Since he knows,_ he’ll _appear_

_Cause there are rules and there is structure_

_To the spell that brought that man into his life_

_His one guide, with red eyes_

_Will come just when he needs him_

_Until their timelines meet, he’ll have to wait_

_Year number twenty-eight_

 

_It won’t be today,_

_It can’t be today_

 

* * *

 

He’d only come out to see the latest generation of Xaiolin monks - maybe lord over them a little. But it was _very_  distracting when the person he’d been waiting for quite literally _fell into his arms._

 

 _Well, not quite who I’m waiting for_ , Chase amended. This wasn’t the Jack he knew - the Jack from his memories. _This_ Jack was younger, for starters - not to mention the slack-jawed, open adoration so different from the past (future) Jack’s (admittedly vain) attempts at hiding his feelings.

 

“Chase Young, pleased to meet you,” he said, hiding the knife twist of _want_ in the pit of his stomach behind a smirk. For Jack, this would be their first meeting - he couldn’t give away what had happened in the past - what _would_ happen in the future.

 

“Chase Young?” Jack practically squeaked.

 

 _Just how young_ is _he?_ the warlord wondered, realizing the young man in his grasp was likely an adolescent still. It did not bode well for the end of his long wait.

 

“As in the single greatest super evil genius of all _time_ Chase Young?” Jack barreled ahead, still with that look of complete and total awe.

 

 _Thanks in large part to you_ . Chase had known Jack admired him - the past/future Jack himself had said it clearly enough. But there was a stark difference between the respectful (if awkward) maturity displayed in Chase’s past and… well, _this_.

 

“I do have a certain reputation,” the heylin prince said, smothering the aching resentment that rose like bile behind yet more smugness. This wasn’t _his_ Jack - but at the same time, it was. Or rather, would be. Thinking back to their earliest encounters, Chase almost physically winced at how different he must have seemed as Chenglei. Particularly when he was near the age _this_ Jack appeared to be.

 

“Here, I want you to have - my Wu,” Jack said, elongated legs curling so that the teen’s feet - wearing the Monsoon Sandals - appeared on either side of the warlord’s face.

 

Chase dropped the teen ungracefully in parts surprise and second-hand embarrassment. It seemed social graces were a skill Jack would learn later - hopefully not _too_ much later. As much as Chase had come to admire and respect the patience past/future Jack had shown with _his_ teenaged self - especially considering how deep he knew Jack’s affection ran - it was hard to maintain his own when he had come so _close_ just to be abruptly and forcefully denied that which he most wanted.

 

“You fool!” a female voice said - a vaguely familiar female voice.

 

“Chase Young is my all time hero!” Jack replied, already picking himself up, “He’s an evil doer’s evil doer!”

 

And to Chase he was just so… _young_.

 

He’d realized, of course, that _his_ Jack had never been as mature as his past self had thought - at least, he’d realized it _eventually_. Once an idea was planted, of course, it was hard to shake - and in comparison to his often distressed state, Jack’s mostly calm (albeit slightly deranged) ability to rationalize was easy to mistake for maturity.

 

Still, Jack’s future self was leagues ahead of his present.

 

“Dojo!” a unfamiliar voice called out - and _ah, those must be the new dragons in training._

 

“Where have you been?” the smallest one asked.

 

A Japanese girl stood next to him, “We could have missed out on a lot of Shen Gong Wu with you gone!”

 

“Are you sure with my _big bones_ and all, I wouldn’t have just slowed you down?” the dragon demanded, slithering out from behind the warlord.

 

As the dragon and monks continued, the scene turning something too saccharine for Chase’s taste, the heylin prince watched Jack out of the corner of his eye.

 

There was a purple ghost still scolding the teen, who sulked like a petulant child. _Like the petulant child he probably_ is _right now,_ Chase amended, another wave of longing assaulting him. It wasn’t _his_ Jack - but after some odd seven hundred years, it was too close to ignore entirely.

 

“That cannot be!” the little monk exclaimed, “Master monk Guan is too honorable to engage in such behavior.”

 

 _Ah, right,_ the warlord thought, breaking out some Lao Máng Lóng for effect, _I came with a purpose._

 

“That’s where you’d be wrong, my naive young Xiaolin admirer,” he said (because if the monk did not admire him _now_ , he would in the near future), “Dojo belongs to me now.”

 

“If you do not surrender Dojo and the Shen Gong Wu at once, you will suffer a most humiliating defeat!” the boy said confidently, crossing his arms.

 

Chase had to close his eyes to keep them from wandering to not-his Jack.

 

“What are we going to do - fight or sit around and sip tea?” another young man - South American, perhaps? - asked. It was odd to see Xiaolin warrior monks that did not wear robes - though he supposed even that order knew they needed to change with the times.

 

“It’s my special Lao Máng Lóng soup,” the warlord replied, feeling a smirk before he took a drink. Perhaps he could not reveal their connection yet to Jack - but that did not mean he couldn’t _impress_ him. (Not that it took much, he knew. Not when it came to _Chase_.)

 

Audio memories of his name being said so reverently, like a prayer to an ancient, evil god, had the heylin prince suppress a shudder. _Not the time - though I suppose I do fit the bill, more or less._ It was a joke _his_ Jack would appreciate.

 

“I always have a cup before victory,” Chase added, arching a brow and banishing his memories. These monks would be nothing for him to defeat - and it was not _this_ Jack’s fault he was not (yet) what the dark prince wanted.

 

Chase didn’t bother to open his eyes as he held off the assault of the smallest monk, the one that _did_ wear proper robes, “You fight well for a… little one.”

 

The rest of the fight was as unremarkable as the beginning, and Chase soon began to leave disappointed but unsurprised.

 

And then there was Jack.

 

“Hey what do you say we work together?” the teen asked, “Split the Wu down the middle.”

 

And it was not _his_ Jack, but it _smelled like_ his Jack and _looked_ like his Jack and _approached him without fear_ like his Jack.

 

“I have little interest in Shen Gong Wu,” he said, more harshly than he intended, “I only came to observe the young monks I heard so much about. True strength comes from within.”

 

He walked away stiffly, ignoring the _want_ would continuing to twist in his gut. _The stupid timeline, Chase. If you do anything rash, you may ruin it._

 

“Oh, that’s deep,” not-his Jack said from behind him.

 

 _He’s such a child_ , Chase thought, and almost resented the fondness in the thought. _Not his_ , he reminded himself - unlike past/future Jack, who had needed a way to explain his presence, Chase revealing the teen’s eventual sojourn through his life was not only unnecessary, but dangerous. Or so _his_ Jack had always seemed to think.

 

“You know, Chase - can I call you Chase?” not-his Jack went on, (Chase could hear him collecting something metal behind him), “It’s a pleasure to watch you work-”

 

“Ugh!” the ghost called out, “You pathetic little groupie! If I had a stomach, I’d hurl.”

 

Chase forced himself on - as much as some base part of him wanted to defend Jack, this was - _again_ \- not _his_ Jack. Defending him was not a luxury the warlord had - even as he caught the strained chuckle not-his Jack made in response.

 

The warlord remembered the first time he’d started to see the depths of Jack’s self-loathing - all those many years ago. How much it had pained him - if he acted now, while Jack was still young… then he would not be the same Jack, and he would never see _his_ Jack again. The knife of _want_ twisted further, and resentful bile rose again - thought this time, the resentment was aimed at himself, for doing nothing to ensure things turned out the way they were meant to unfold. (Alright, _some_ of the resentment was still aimed at the young Jack, but less than there had been before.)

 

Had Jack felt this way, denying him as Chenglei? Denying him again and again, all for the sake of the timeline? If so, he’d have to apologize for all the hurtful things he’d said the night he first drank the Lao Máng Lóng soup - he’d apologized for his actions, but not for accusing Jack of finding him repulsive. It was not exactly the same - he had as much _physical_ desire for young Jack as he imagined Jack had held for his own adolescent self… but there was still a desire to _protect_ his future want.

 

Though… pausing, he realized there was _something_ he could do. A consolation prize, more or less.

 

Listening to Jack’s happy chattering after allowing him to help with the monks and see his true form - even losing to _Guan_ stung a little less.

 

(Of course, he’d _had_ to lose ot Guan - there was no way the monk could perform the all important ritual while under Chase’s thumb.)

 

* * *

 

_There’s a warlord_

_With a problem_

_His wait’s not over though they’ve met_

_Evil genius_

_In a basement_

_But he’s younger with no memory_

_Of the time they spent together_

_All the secrets, advice rendered_

_Their roles have been reversed now_

_How he wished to skip this scene_

_Skip ahead, skip ahead_

_To the time when they’re finally together_

_Kind of closer in age_

_And on the same page_

 

 _Cause he knows,_ he’ll _get there_

_To the man that he’s come to know_

_But now it’s Chase’s turn to preserve the damn timeline_

_This is hell_

_Now he knows_

_How dealing with him must have been like_

_There’d be a special place for Guan when this was done_

_Year number six hundred eighty one_

 

_Why is it not today?_

_Why can’t it be today…_

 

* * *

 

It was surprisingly easy to push away young Jack - he was _annoying_ . And _obnoxious_ . And perhaps Chase had been the same, but Jack had only needed to deal with young Chenglei for a _day_ \- Chase had to deal with young _Jack_ for _years._

 

(It helped that Jack so frequently worked with Wuya - until, of course, he’d convinced the witch to team up with him instead. It probably seemed cruel to the young teen at the time, but that was how heylin operated… though it would be a lie to say that the move had been entirely selfish. After all, when she was working with him, she wasn’t abusing Jack - and Chase didn’t have to reveal his hand to manage that trick.)

 

At least after so many years he understood _his_ Jack’s obsession with the timeline - piecemeal memories of alternate timelines (and somehow he was _still_ surprised _any_ version of Jack had managed to take over the world) created through time fiddling made hypothetical problems alarmingly real. But years were a problem on many fronts.

 

Because as the years went on, not-his Jack was getting much closer to becoming _his_ Jack. He was glad he at least knew how old Jack was when he interrupted Guan’s spell and went back - and it had been a _long_ ten years.

 

The more Jack grew, the more he matured (relatively speaking), the less Chase could stand to be around him. The more his patience thinned and control wavered, the more he wanted to grab still-not-his Jack and have his way with him. Especially when _still-not-his_ Jack sent those sad looks his way, those sad, _longing_ looks - or when Chase could smell his arousal. And sometimes the warlord could not _resist_ doing something to provoke it. If he didn’t even have the self control to keep from tempting himself, the only way to make sure things went _right_ (or wrong, depending on one’s perspective) was to avoid the younger heylin.

 

Which only made that double-edge knife of _want_ and _resentment_ twist further and further in his gut as realized that _he_ was the person whose attention Jack had been seeking. The one he had spoke to Chase of when the warlord was still a monk in training. When he was still Xiaolin and in need of comfort - comfort he could not return.

 

Just _seeing_ Jack put Chase’s teeth on edge with the need to hide his desire, his _need._ Oh, but this was tortuous - the heylin prince was beginning to think he had failed to put enough stock in the magic of karma. Jack wanted him, he wanted Jack - but he couldn’t have him because of _Guan_ and the _stupid_ **_fucking_ ** _timeline._

 

And the _kindness_ Jack had still shown him - after all the snide remarks, all the lashing out, all the flat out avoidance the young genius no doubt read as disdain and condescension…

 

 _Maybe this is what the mortals mean when the say kindness can kill_ , Chase thought, hand to his throbbing temple as he watched Jack work. It was a loathsome, self-mutilating habit that brought the warlord a belly full of tar - but he couldn’t help it. He _loved_ watching Jack work.

 

He knew what Jack had meant, when he said there was no analogue for what he did in the past - there would have been absolutely no way in which the genius could have explained building robots and other complex mechanical contraptions seven hundred years ago. Chase barely understood it now - but in the same way he didn’t need to understand how to make paint or apply it to canvas to appreciate a painter, he didn’t need to understand the advanced technology to appreciate Jack. (He did know how to do the former, but that was besides the point.)

 

Because - true to his word - the man was an _artist_ . The different machines, the new ways he designed the Jackbots, the innovative features that allowed him to keep up with heylin magicians and Xiaolin warriors… as much as he’d loved Jack in the past, he was glad that the genius had been born to _this_ time period.  

 

Chase growled at the familiar ache of _want_ in his gut - _When this is over, I will be the one killing Jack with kindness. And killing_ for _Jack with kindness -_ he was still heylin, after all _._  

 

“You’re watching him _again_?” Wuya asked, waltzing into the throne room.

 

Chase ignored her.

 

The woman sighed theatrically, draping herself on the arm of his throne, “What _is_ your obsession with little Jackie these days? You can barely stand to look at him in person, yet you spy on him for hours on end.”

 

“It’s no business of yours,” the warlord said. At least she had stopped trying to seduce him.

 

Wuya scoffed, “Look at him - he still plays with his toys like child. Though it’s not like he has much other choice.”

 

If it weren’t for the hidden fondness he could barely hear in the witch’s voice - and for her mentoring Jack to the heylin side - she would be the _first_ person on the list.

 

“So, are you going to fuck him yet or what?” the woman drawled, startling him.

 

Chase abruptly snuffed the orb, “ _Excuse me_?”

 

Wuya rolled her eyes, stretching languidly, “I’m not stupid, Chase. I know men have _needs_ \- needs I am usually quick to prey upon… not that my charms have ever done anything for _you_.”

 

The warlord growled, hands digging into the armrests of his throne - or, more accurately, claws.

 

“Now,” the witch said, stroking a finger over one claw, “What could I have _possibly_ said to provoke this kind of reaction, hm?”

 

Chase growled again, but forced himself to relax. It was the year - this was _the_ year. He was _so close_ and it put him completely on edge and he _hated_ it. It also seemed to make him easy to read through.

 

“I mean, I was always suspicious of how _soft_ you were when it came to Jack,” Wuya went on, “But I always thought you held back because the boy wasn’t _worth_ your full strength - which he wasn’t, of course.”

 

“If you have a point, I suggest you make it,” the warlord said icily.

 

The witch rolled her eyes and rose, moving to stare down at him with her hands on her hips, “If you’re so clearly _interested,_ why aren’t you just _taking_ him? You _know_ he wouldn’t resist - hell, it’d be a dream come true.”

 

She was right - Jack would _love_ for Chase to -

 

Jack would love Chase. Jack _did_ love Chase. Something Wuya most certainly knew.

 

He looked up at her with cold, calculating eyes, “And why should you care?”

 

“I don’t,” the witch flipped her hair over he shoulder.

 

“Don’t you? If you _really_ didn’t care, why would you bring it up at all?”

 

Wuya gave him an unimpressed look - but the longer he watched her, the more unsettled she became. Finally, she crossed her arms, “This isn’t about me, it’s about-”

 

“Jack,” Chase said, feeling more settled by unsettling the witch, “Are you concerned for his well being?”

 

Wuya threw up her hands with a yell of disgust, turning away, “I’m just sick of seeing his mopey kicked-puppy eyes and your stupid brooding face! You both disgust me with this saccharine star-crossed lovers shit and it’s about time-”

 

“Yes,” Chase mused, coming to an odd decision, “It _is_ about time.”

 

The witch gave him a suspicious look over her shoulder.

 

Against his better judgement, he told her the truth.    

 

* * *

 

_There’s a heylin_

_Sick of waiting!_

_For a monk to cast a stupid spell_

_How hard was it, to want to change things_

_Enough to risk everything?_

_He really couldn’t do this_

_He was at his breaking point_

_Ten years of the wrong Jack_

_Was almost worse than none at all_

_Who could blame him if he snapped?_

 

_Cut the showdowns, cut the whining_

_Cut his temper fails!_

_Cut all the hero worship,_

_Cut the distance and the lies!_

_Cut the whining! Cut the sad eyes!_

_Keep the genius! Cut the flinching!_

_And the waiting! The waiting! The waiting! The waiting!_

_The waiting!_

 

_But he knows, that won’t work_

_Cause then he’ll never get what he wants_

_Not a fanboy, nor apprentice_

_But an equal at his side_

_It can’t be long now he hopes_

_Year number-_

 

_He can feel it,_

_Strong Xiaolin magic_

 

_Gaun’s gone and done it!_

 

* * *

 

He’d been watching Jack through his eyespy orb again, marveling at the genius’s ability to sneak around Guan’s temple with ease - a talent the young man no doubt thought of as somehow trivial.

 

But then he had seen the ritual set up Jack walked into and _knew_ \- it was time. _It was_ finally _time._

 

Chase was off in an instant. He barely remembered how he got to Guan’s temple - magic, most likely. His heart threatened to beat of his chest in excitement - _finally_ , it was _time_ . His wait was so soon to be over, he could _taste_ it.

 

But still, he needed to be cautious - he had to make sure that Jack got caught up in the ritual. The heylin prince snuck through the temple - however, with the ritual going on, he doubted he needed to use much stealth.

 

It wasn’t long before he was just outside the room, looking into Jack - _almost-his Jack_ \- alreadying trying to stop Guan. Guan, who insisted he was trying to help his lost friend - Chase rolled his eyes. _What a tired song and dance_.

 

And then it happened - a cut, some blood, and a hum of Xiaolin magic.

 

Guan surged forward with desperate speed - but Chase was _faster_.

 

He grabbed the monk and tossed him back with a snarl, “ _You_ are the one who won’t interfere, Guan.”

 

The warlord looked over, just in time to watch as Jack vanished - and the knife in Chase’s gut finally _relaxed_ . Yes, he would likely have a few more days to wait - but once they were over, he’d have _his_ Jack again. And he wouldn’t have to wait anymore - or ever again.

 

* * *

 

 _Now he knows,_ he’ll _appear_

_Cause there are rules and there is structure_

_To the spell that’s finally cast, been set in place_

_His first love, and his last_

_Will take a journey through his long past_

_And they'll finally be together, he guarantees_


End file.
